(Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
I don’t fly American Airlines unless I absolutely have to. And by “absolutely have to,” I mean that my company buys me a ticket on American and is willing to withstand me complaining about my (free) ticket for a week while making veiled threats at filing a hostile work environment claim. American Airlines is not good to black people, says the NAACP. Air travel, in general, is not good to people, but if you can’t distinguish between the experiences of black passengers versus white ones, you’re a racism apologist. And if you can’t distinguish between American and other airlines — which are also crappy — then you are one of those “both parties are the same” idiots.
Yes, things are bad for everybody, everywhere, but American is worse. The latest evidence of that comes from Dana Holcomb. Holcomb is a black man who was trying to fly, first-class, from Vegas back to Austin. The flight had a layover in Phoenix. A woman got on and sat next to him with an “emotional support” lapdog. Holcomb is allergic to dogs. And then American did its thing. From RawStory:
Admitting that he was [allergic to her dog], he said the woman attempted to find another seat but could not be accommodated which led to flight attendants and then a pilot to become involved, telling him to move to another seat in the back of the plane.
According to Holcomb, the flight attendant, “Began to get really irate because he was insisting that I go to that seat.”
Holcomb’s attorney, Reginald McKamie Sr., explained the lawsuit he filed on his client’s behalf against the airline, stating, “At that point (workers) told him you’re going to go to the rear of the plane or get off the plane.”
Holcomb was removed from the flight, which left without even getting his bags off. Those bags included his medications. He had to spend the night in Phoenix. American Airlines claims, in a statement, that Holcomb was removed because he became “confrontational.”
I’m mildly allergic to cats. Not nearly as allergic as Holcomb appears to be to dogs. If a cat were in the seat next to me, it would make my flight bad, but I probably wouldn’t make a whole thing about it. UNTIL THEY TOLD ME TO SIT AT THE BACK OF THE PLANE. That is about when I’d lose my ever-loving mind. I’ve got a first-class ticket and you’re going to tell me, but not the lady with the animal, to move to the BACK of the plane? No. Nah, son. I get “confrontational” AF when I have to remind people to Google Rosa Parks.
Holcomb plans to sue American for racial discrimination. I know some white people are reading this and thinking “that could happen to anybody, why you gotta bring race into it?” First of all, I hate you people, please know that. But the core of the discrimination point is not about American choosing dogs over people, it’s about kicking a black man off a flight because he refused to be treated worse than a dog.
Holcomb stated that woman did eventually find another passenger willing to switch seats with her, but that he was booted from the plane — as well as the airport — by American anyway and was accused of being “confrontational.”
That’s what doesn’t happen to white people. The situation resolved itself. The woman (and while I’m not on board with the proliferation of emotional support animals, the woman in this story seems generally blameless) found another seat. The tempest was quelled. But American STILL kicked Holcomb off the plane and out of the airport. Why? Did he do anything that necessitated the pressing of charges? Evidently not. No, they kicked him off and out because they didn’t like his “attitude.” They decided to humiliate him, because he refused to be moved to the back of the plane like freaking chattel.
The lesson, as always: Do Not Fly American. If it’s cheaper, it’s not worth the cost savings. If it’s quicker, it’s not worth the time savings. They’re the world’s largest airline and, therefore, hard to avoid. It’s nearly impossible to fly into or through Dallas or Charlotte or Miami or Phoenix without them. But it’s always worth it to try. Make American your airline of last resort, and if you are black, make sure you wear a body camera if you take one of their flights. You’ll thank me later.
American Airlines booted allergic black man from plane so dog could fly first class: lawsuit [Raw Story]
Elie Mystal is the Executive Editor of Above the Law and a contributor at The Nation. He can be reached @ElieNYC on Twitter, or at elie@abovethelaw.com. He will resist.